Lilly Ledbetter smiles pretty big these days for someone who famously lost out on $3.3 million.

In Birmingham Tuesday, Ledbetter spoke to the Alabama chapter of the Public Relations Society of America's Ethics Day program. The equal pay advocate recounted the story of her lawsuit against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. after working more than 19 years at the company's Gadsden plant.

Ledbetter sued the company after an anonymous note informed her that she was making as much as $2,000 a month less than her male counterparts in the same job. A jury later awarded Ledbetter $3.3 million in damages, but that was later struck down.

Ledbetter lost her fight eventually in the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was signed into law in 2009.

"I stood up for my money," she said. "I never got what I was entitled to. And I was just the tip of the iceberg."

Though she didn't gain from the law, which made it easier to challenge unfair work environments, Ledbetter said she never really expected to see any money. Instead, she said she enjoys inspiring a new generation of women to seek not only equal pay, but opportunities for public service in governments and on boards.

She donated her honorarium for the speech today to her scholarship foundation at Jacksonville State University, while others are working to set up an endowed scholarship at the school.

Ledbetter lost out last month in her bid to become secretary for the Alabama Democratic Party, at the same time that Peck Fox and a slate of challengers lost out to State Chairwoman Nancy Worley and others.

Ledbetter said she feels the only way the state's Democratic Party leadership will change is through intervention at the national level. "We need strong leadership," she said. "That's why we're not progressing."

In the meantime, Ledbetter said she will continue to crisscross the nation, and travel internationally, putting the spotlight on equal pay.

"We're not unique, but this country is much better than this," she said. "This new generation, they've got a voice. They can make a difference. You always have to have hope. You have to believe."